Demon Mates
by MaroonAngel of Darkness
Summary: If fate wills it, destinies will always be tied, no matter the the time or place, there will always be connections to tie the fated together.
1. Ameliorate

**this is an idea that i see a few times with demon and romance stories, might as well include one for Rin and Shiemi ^^**

* * *

As much as he hated to admit it, Yukio was at a loss on what to do.

Before him were Rin and Shiemi, stuck in the oddest situation he could have never have imagined. And he had absolutely no idea what to do about it.

The said girl involved in his sudden problem was unconscious in Rin's arms. Now, this was nothing new. He and Rin were usually the ones to always carry her whenever she was injured, his brother even made it to a point that he could do most, if not all the time. He might have overlooked this if he didn't see the blood curling down on her brow, a bright, ominous red against her pale skin. She either had a simple cut, or it was a concussion.

Normally, he would be there on the spot to check.

Only he wasn't being allowed too.

The main root of this predicament, his brother, wasn't letting him get close. Blue flames flickered and flared around his body, and Yukio instinctively worried at first if they would have burned Shiemi; he quickly reminded himself that Rin's flames never hurt those he cared about though.

The flames weren't his problem.

His problem was with Rin himself.

He held Shiemi as he always would have, close, gently, and protectively. Normally, it would be considered that in his arms, there would be no safer place.

Now, Yukio wasn't so sure.

Rin held the girl close, crouched like a cat, his tail swaying to and fro as he growled warningly at Yukio, the growl resonating and rumbling out thickly in the air; heat radiating off the devilspawn, the blue flames seemingly getting brighter and brighter the longer Yukio stood in his place.

Yukio grimaced at this. This was supposed to be a simple mission. Take care of a demon that had been haunting the streets, creating car accidents that were getting out of hand. The demon turned out to be more powerful than he had guessing and Shiemi had ended up getting hurt and Rin had snapped when the battle was taking a turn to the worse.

They defeated the demon, though Yukio wasn't sure if this battle really was over.

Rin's eyes, his uneven pupils glowing like red embers, were locked on him and glaring at him like he was an enemy.

It reminded Yukio of that night that Rin went berserk, the night he overwhelmed Amaimon and charged at them.

It had been a miracle that Shiemi was able to bring him back.

But it seemed like she wouldn't be able to this time.

"Brother," Yukio tried, taking a cautious step.

Rin snarled at him violently, jerking forward and swiping his claws at the air, sending bright fire his way. Yukio barely had a chance to jump back and avoid them.

"Let Shiemi go," he went on, his hands tightening their grip on his gun.

Rin hissed at that order, fury burning in his eyes. _"Mine!" _he snarled, tugging her even closer.

"Let her go!" Yukio shouted, firing a warning shot. It flew past Rin, scraping along his head. Yukio had hoped that it would have been enough for him to drop her out of surprise or come to his senses.

It didn't do what he wanted unfortunately.

Rin went stiff, feeling pain in his head, his ears echoing with the gunshot, and warmth dripping down his cheek. He didn't drop Shiemi like Yukio wanted. He simply stood in his crouch, frozen as he struggled to process that he was shot at.

When it clicked, hell broke loose.

Rin roared furiously, his fire brightening and spreading, rushing at Yukio like an angry wave. Eyes wide, the exorcist fled back, trying to outrun the flames, saving himself from burns as he dashed into an alleyway, letting the heat flash past him. He spent a couple of seconds assuring himself that he was still alive, adrenaline ringing in his ears at the close moment before he jerked back out, gun ready and pointed at...

...air.

Rin was gone. Shiemi was gone.

Rin was going berserk as a demon. Shiemi unconscious and in his clutches.

Yukio slumped in disbelief.

His problem just got worse.

* * *

Shiemi groaned as she slowly woke. The ground below her soft and the air around her warm, with a heavy smell of flowers and plants that she knew well enough all around her.

For a moment, she played with the idea that she might have fallen asleep in her secret garden again. It wasn't unusually that she might have passed out here while she was working. It was pleasant and relaxing being here, surrounded by calm and eased plant life.

There really didn't seem to be any problems here, nothing any of reality's hardships could touch here.

But when she felt an uncomfortable warmth on her forehead, heavy with a slight smell of metal that was odd among many of the other flowers' scent, and an aching throb on her head; she figured reality must have found a way to follow her.

Frowning and still refusing to open her eyes just yet, she reached up, lightly touching where the warmth was on her face. She jerked back when she felt liquid.

Opening her eyes, she saw red on her fingers.

There was blood on her fingers.

She blinked, surprised at the sight. Why was there blood on her fingers? Did she hit her head while she was working?

No... she was always careful and the demons in her garden always helped and secured her presence here. And she didn't remember working with anything that could have caused a wound on her head...

She did remember being out in a city, working a job with Rin and Yukio, dealing with a demon that caused accidents. She remembered being a little too careless and getting swiped at and knocked out. She sighed, a little sad that she was overwhelmed so easily, but glad that she was able to live through that experience.

Though she did wonder how and why was she in her garden.

Shouldn't she have woken up with Rin and Yukio above her? Patching her up and making sure she was alright?

Why was she in her secret garden?

Suddenly, Rin's face appeared above hers, his blue eyes staring intently down at hers, their noses brushing against each other. Surprised and with a squeal, she jerked up, intent on putting some distance between them, only for their foreheads to hit hard.

They both cringed away, Rin yowling as he held his head, and she whimpered as she held her own delicately, the light pain she felt before was now ten times more stronger, leaving her forehead overly tender, even to her touched. Quivering at the pain, she peeked her eyes open to see Rin staring at her with big, wide eyes, looking hurt and frightened. Wincing, she smiled reassuringly at him, saying softly, "You surprised me."

He blinked at her before he smiled sheepishly, letting his hand drop and revealing a large, red smear on his forehead.

Guilt jabbed at her.

She got blood on him.

Ignoring the pain, she murmured, "Sorry Rin, I-"

She cut herself off when Rin started to lick his hand, clearing away the red drop that was on his fingers, murmuring contently to himself as his tail wagged lazily. Much like a cat, his hand rose up, swiping up all the blood it could before he licked them off his fingers once again. He kept it up till he got every last drop off his head, his eyes were glued to her as he finished and licked his fingers cleaned.

Shiemi really didn't know how to feel about this. The sight of Rin licking her blood clean much like a cat, and his eyes glued to her intently.

Was this her Rin?

She stiffened when she finally noticed what was different about him.

His eyes, the irises of his blue eyes were scrambled and jagged, with the pupils glowing like cinders in an ash pile.

Those were Rin's demon's eyes. Eyes he got when he got overwhelmed by his demon heritage, eyes he got when he was running pure instinct so that he could survive the worst fights.

But there wasn't any danger here... was there?

As if to make sure, Shiemi looked around her secret garden, seeing that everything was fine and peaceful. There was nothing to fear here.

So where his eyes like that?

Movement came in the corner of her eye and Shiemi turned to find Rin leaning close and a sudden feeling of something warm and wet slide across her forehead.

It took her a minute to realize that it was his tongue and that he was licking her.

Squealing, she shoved him back, gawking at him. Rin slid back, not enough to fall out of the flower like bed, but to the edge of it, staring up at her with wide eyes, his tongue still out and his pointed ears up slightly, perked up and startled by her sudden actions.

Face red, Shiemi covered her forehead, stuttering, "Wha-what, what are you doing?!"

His surprise melted into exaggeration. He arced a brow at her before he rolled his eyes; it was almost like he thought she was being the ridiculous one.

Still flustered, Shiemi opened her mouth to shout, but was quickly was cut off with a squeal when Rin was suddenly up close once again. Automatically, Shiemi leaned away, with Rin following her closely, his arms caging around her as he leaned forward, his tail coming around and wrapping around her waist to keep her in place. Surprised, Shiemi tried pushing him away, unlike the first time though, Rin resisted, his tongue lulling out and gliding over her forehead, lapping up the blood.

Shiemi shivered as his tongue licked away the blood, clinging to his shirt and making a face at the odd sensation. Sensing her unease, Rin purred down at her, coming to the side of her face and nuzzling her. Giving her cheek a quick lick, he went back to her forehead, lowering her to the ground as his hands came up and gently moved the hair strands away so he could lick at the cut that was hidden by her hair.

"R-Rin?" she squeaked, her face even redder as tomato.

Her answer was a distracted purr as Rin focused on his work.

Sighing to herself, she decided to just lay still and let Rin do what he wanted. He wasn't hurting her after all... even if this was really weird.

With one last lick, Rin drew back, looking pretty satisfied and proud of himself. Slowly, Shiemi followed him up, her hand rising and lightly touching where her cut would have been.

Only she didn't find it. Her cut wasn't there, not even a scar.

"Wow," Shiemi breathed, looking up at Rin with wide eyes. "Its gone! That's amazing Rin!"

He beamed at her praise, his tail wagging excitedly. But paused when he stared at her hand. Quickly, he snatched up her hand and Shiemi realized that there was still blood on her fingers. Much like her head, Rin licked the blood clean off her fingers, making her shiver and blush at the odd sensation as his tongue curled and lapped at her finger tips.

Once her hand was clean and he was satisfied that there wasn't a trace of red on her, Rin released her and stretched like a cat, yawning a big lawn.

Grinning at him and secretly wiping her hand clean, she said to the half demon, "Thanks Rin."

Rin blinked at her before he grinned toothily at her. Slipping closer to her, he practically fell onto top of her, leaning all his weight on her as he curled up at her side, purring loudly as his tail weaving around her wrist. Shiemi almost fell back, blushing hard at the sudden weight and the vibration that came from him. Then she grinned, her hands rising on their own and weaving through his hair, much to the half demon's delight, his purrs getting louder as he tried to snuggle closer to her.

Well, she doesn't know whats going on with Rin, but its pretty sweet at the moment.

* * *

"Why are you laughing?!" Yukio exclaimed, glaring at Mesphisto as the demon laughed in his seat, his arms wound tightly around his side.

"This is serious!" Yukio insisted, "Rin's stuck as a demon and he took off with Shiemi!"

"That girl," Mephisto declared through giggles, "is probably in the safest place in the world. Going there would just cause more problems than any good that you could try. Just leave them be, the girl will be fine."

"Fine?!" Yukio exclaimed.

Mephisto sighed, shaking his at Yukio, his laughter finally calm. "Yukio," he started, "How much do you know about demon mates?"

Yuko frowned at him before he paled at the sudden realization. "Rin's not going to-"

"Not without her consent," Mephisto eased. "Demons take care of their mates. Their comfort and well fare is and always will be at the top of their list and instincts. You said she was hurt?"

"Yes, a demon knocked her out and Rin went crazy."

"Then he's probably wasting his time away taking care of her wounds. Once he sleeps it off, everything will be back to normal...Mostly."

"Mostly?" Yukio asked suspiciously.

Mephisto grinned innocently. "Just keep a close eye on him in class. Demon tails are very expressive, and may want some kind of contact with her, after all, mates are the only ones that can get away with touching a demon's tail."

"...Anything else?"

"Yes, he may get more of a temper than he already has. Demons are possessive and easily jealous. Thankfully, that girl has a tendency to stay close, but just get ready. He may get a violent tantrum if one student gets too close or does something he doesn't like. He also might be a bit affectionate around her as well." Mephisto grinned. "Such fun this semester will be," he cooed.

Yukio scowled at him and left, muttered curses under his breath.

Why did Rin always get in situations like this?

True to Mephisto's words, Yukio found Rin and Shiemi later today, both blushing but pretty normal. She eased his worries about her injury and Rin glared at him darkly whenever he got to close to Shiemi.

Yukio sighed.

Mephisto was also right, that this was going to be quite a semester.

* * *

**in some stories that i have read and seen in a few mangas, demons are very possessive of their mates and always take really good care of them and are very expressive around them. They show a different side to mates that no one else would ever get a chance to see. **

**they'd make the best lover from what i usually see. **

**i didn't see one for rin and shiemi yet to here we are! ^^**


	2. Obvious

**After so many reviews asking for a continuation, I decided, why not? So, this will be a small drabble series that may or may not grow. It'll depend if any ideas come to me. Don't expect fast updates though, I won't write if I don't have ideas or inspiration.  
**

**I'm moving Obvious here because it is a chapter that could be used for Demon Mates and was a bit of a sequel too, showing off a little jealous Rin.  
**

**Also, if anyone has request or ideas, feel free to ask, I'll write them up when I can with the inspiration and time. **

**Obvious: Never ignore a jealous demon, its near impossible to try.  
**

* * *

Shiemi hummed and easy tune as she worked at her studies, pencil gliding over the paper and sometimes tapping on it whenever she was stumped. Whenever this happened, she would drift away from the paper to play with Ni, much to the Greenman's delight. Behind her, somewhat sprawled on the ground, was Rin, a book planted on his face as he "studied", emitting a snoring purr every now and then with his tail twitching occasionally, rising up to curl or lashing out slightly, sometimes it even lightly tapped the side of her leg.

Shiemi glanced back at him, giggling slightly at the sight.

She had learned a while ago that whenever Rin did this, it was his nap time instead. She had thought about waking him up, but waking Rin could go a few ways.

Rin could end up surprised and would jump up, which lead to a painful headbutt, and though she would never tell him, but his head was as hard as rock. She'd prefer to avoid that.

Rin could avoid and ignore her, grumbling about her waking him up and try and roll away. And lastly she could be successful and he would be half asleep and in a zombie state till something clicked in his head that he was going to be late or he would gradually wake up on his own... possibly. There were times he fell back asleep, even while standing up.

Though once he was awake, he was always going.

Today though was a day off from school. And everyone was happy for the break. Even Shiemi was doing her work halfheartedly, barely paying attention to most of it while she played and cooed at Ni, ignoring the occasional tap on her leg and the brush of fur against her kimono.

She hoped Yuki would understand, but today was a bit of a lazy day it seemed. A break never hurt anyone, right?

Her door opened with a loud chime, breaking Shiemi out of her daydream and jumping up, half expecting to see Yuki come through, seeing that she really wasn't studying.

Thankfully, it wasn't Yuki.

But it was someone she didn't recognize. It clicked in her head that it must have been one of the new students. Since the incident with Satan and his gate, they've had a lot of new arrivals join their school to become exorcist. Smiling warmly at the new arrival, Shiemi greeted him like she did with every customer.

It was a young man, looking about old enough to be in college or late in high school. His hair was blonde, like hers, which she figured was a pretty rare color to have in Japan, and it was combed neatly and handsomely. He wore styled clothes and had gleaming brown eyes that seemed to brightened at the sight of her.

He slid up to the counter, smiling down at her, leaning his weight on one foot, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he said, "Hey babe."

Shiemi's smile shrunk a bit, a little confused at this odd behavior. It was sort of reminding her of Shima, but then again, even Shima didn't act this way.

Shrugging it off, she went back to business. A customer was a customer after all. "Good morning," she bid pleasantly, "what can I help you with today?"

"You can tell me what's a doll like you doing in a place like this," the boy purred out, smirking at her coyly. No one could resist his looks and charm after all.

Now Shiemi's smile dropped completely. Doll? He called her a doll. What did that mean? Did he see her as weak?! Sure, she may not have been the most physical, but she liked to think she was capable, with Ni at least... though, maybe it wouldn't hurt to expand, it was pointed out to her a few times that she was pretty helpless without Ni at times.

As the girl got lost in her own mixed and troubled thoughts, the boy wanted for that promised blush that should have appeared by now... or see her flustered...

Nothing.

He frowned, his smirk gone as he stared at the odd girl before him. She was adorable, and he had never seen green eyes on anyone. But by how she was acting, she looked a little... clueless. And maybe not even worth his time.

Well, he wouldn't know till he took her out for a try.

His smirk revived, he leaned forward, catching her attention as he whispered to her huskily, "You free tonight babe?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth did he realize how hot he was.

Now, he was very attractive and hot, but he was feeling fairly... hot, uncomfortably warm. It was like he was in a furnace. Was it this hot when he came in?

Then a dark form shifted behind the girl. Looking past, he tensed up, his heart skipping a beat at the sight. A demon crouched behind the girl, glaring at him with vivid, glowing, and cold blue eyes, the rest of his form encased with the shadows of the room.

"Sir?" Shiemi piped, oblivious to the dark aurora behind her.

It was what he needed to snap out it. "N-no, n-noth-nothing," he uttered shakily, turning, he all but ran out of the shop.

Shiemi blinked after him, raising a brow. Well that was weird. And he was looking past her...

Turning around, she found only Rin, yawning as he slowly roused himself from his nap. Grinning, Shiemi bid, "Good morning!"

Rin blinked at her groggily before he grinned back. "Mornin," he mumbled, rubbing his face as a way to wake himself up. Shiemi quickly asked him, "Hey Rin?"

"Hm?"

"Did you just see that customer?"

"Hm."

"Wasn't there something odd about him?"

Rin paused a bit before shrugging. "I wouldn't worry too much about it Shiemi," he eased naturally, smiling at her while his tail swayed back and forth coyly, "people are just weird like that you know."


	3. Deviant

**this chapter is a bit of a historical, i guess Inuyasha could be a good example to give off the idea i have in my head. **

**Deviant: He was curious. She wasn't acting like other humans, which he found odd . She came out of the shelter of hers to be with them. She wasn't under a spell or making contracts, she was simply there to be there.  
**

* * *

He peered down at the odd sight before him puzzled and startled at this sight.

Down below, oblivious to his presence in the tree, was a girl, a human girl with short and thick, light blonde hair, cut to hang around her chin. Like all other woman, she wore a brightly colored kimono; though unlike most he's seen, he mess, smeared and stained with dirt that the bright pink she wore was almost brown.

The human girl didn't seem to mind though.

With bright and delighted green eyes tha t he's never seen on a human, she played and hung out with a patch of Greenmen that equally flocked around her, hanging off her hair and clothes as they murmured words he didn't care to hear, though she seemed to understand them quite easily. She laughed and giggled, her hands drifting around the little plant demons, coaxing them to purr and squeal with every brush of her hand.

And he found himself following those hands, watching as gentle fingers curled easily over the little demons smoothly.

Now, Greenmen were one of the few demons that were tolerated by humans and usually not considered dangerous, but never has he seen a human enjoy being in their presence. Not like this. Greenmen helped with gardens which is why they were the favored.

This treatment was a new level of fondness.

Slowly, he crawled down from his perch in the tree, his tail waving slowly like a hunting cat, his eyes glued to her oblivious back as he slowly crept closer.

He must have gotten a little too close.

The Greenmen stilled and with shrill squeals, they fled away from the girl and t he fire demon behind her, already sens in g the heat of the hottest flames from hi m. The girl jumped at the sudden retreat , staring after them confusedly while fire demon scowled at the Greenmen for blowing his cover.

Slowly, the girl turned to look over her shoulder and he found himself dreading every single second that was spent in this time. He wouldn't be surprised if hi s taunting brother took it upon himself to slow time just to see him suffer through this slow motion.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity , green eyes met blue. Unlike before where time seemed to slow, now, it ridiculously sped. The girl's reaction to him was immediate; mostly, probably at the sight of his lion like tail... and may be the ears, his brothers always teased that they were too big.

Either way, she screamed at the sight of him, flinging herself back and half running and half stumbling away.

He stared after, wondering if he should even give chase. But he wouldn't know what he'd do if he caught her, talk to her ? Scare her?

He brushed it off, decided against going after her, especially since she was running straight towards the near village, full of arrows, chanters, and the worse of them all, holy water.

He shuddered at the last one. That was the worst.

He probably wouldn't see the girl lurking in this forest again either way. Humans were scared witless by the mere presence of him and his brothers. With the curious girl gone, the forest he was in was boring now.

Sighing to himself, he turned away, slipping deeper in the trees and going in the exact opposite of the village, a wicked smirk of his face.

Maybe his brother Amaimon would like to play?

* * *

Four days had past since the sudden encounter, and so far, nothing bad has happened. Shiemi was starting to look up to the bright side of the possibilities. There were no fires, no screams, and no sightings of that demon she saw the few day s ago.

She clung to the chance it was one of those life time experiences. That demo just passing by... wasn't it? Though it did look like he was moving towards her; there was no real way of being sure about.

But nothing happened for the past couple of days.

No appearance of him and no fires, even if the first days were long and dragging and the Greenmen weren't seen till the fourth day. With the Greenmen back, that meant the demon was gone, didn't it?

Sighing in relief, Shiemi slowly slipped out of her home and towards the forest where the Greenmen thrived. Out of all the plant demons, they were the ones her grandmother had the closest alliance with. They helped with her garden and she allowed them to have homes in her garden and feed off her land. It was almost like having their own village, but so much better than the one that she lived near.

But there were more in the forest. More Greenmen and many other plant demons. Despite what the High Priest says, her grandmother always cooed that demons made just as good allies. Witches like her saw possibilities while priests only saw horror.

Shiemi grinned brightly, offering her hand and allowing a particularly small Greenman to rest there. "Hey Ni," she cooed at the baby demon, earning a loud squeal from it as it waved at her excitedly. Raising her hand up, cupped it to her cheek, feeling the soft leaves that made up its body brush against her skin.

Much like her grandmother, Shiemi was a witch, probably too young to take over the family business, but at least she knew the basics and important magics that each witch should know. Healing the wounded and sick; and how to work with demons and plants to help. Even making contracts and alliances with demons.

Priests didn't like it, but there were times when people turned to witches for help.

Letting her hand drop, Shiemi allowed Ni to settle on her head before she wandered in, her eyes looking for any herbs to add to her collection. Like any other day, Greenmen flocked to her eagerly, clinging and hanging from her clothes, murmuring and squealing up at her.

There was something different about today though. The Greenmen sounded more frantic and some of them were, tugging at her clothes, trying to drag her down a certain way. Curious and concerned, Shiemi humored them into letting them guide her.

Maybe it was the freak out about the demon they saw a few days ago? Perhaps they were still skittish about it?

But when they came across what they were guiding her too, she stiffened, barely emitting a slight gasp at the sight.

Blood lay scattered over the area, dying the leaves and ground with a frightening red hue. In the center of it was a boy looking about her age, his body torn up and clawed through, even the lion like tail he had was damaged, with nail punctures in it and the fur all messed up.

It was the demon she saw four days ago; looking half dead as he lay there limply and lifelessly. She stood stiff, staring at him, lost and torn on what to do. She wanted to turn away and pretend she never saw the demon. The more human the appearance, the more powerful and dangerous they were after all.

But seeing the human body and how badly beaten up it was, could she really bring herself to leave and not look back? Could she live with this sight on her conscious?

...no.

She never could.

Grimacing down at the demon, she carefully slipped closer to him, half expecting the demon to jump up, fangs and claws ready to pierce her. But he never did, all he did was simply lay there, bloodied and unconscious. Crouching down, she lightly touched his clammy skin, feeling the slick and warm liquid beneath her hand and grimaced.

She gave one last look at the demon before reaching out and slinking her arms around him.

Hopefully, the demon would repay her in some way and she wasn't making a mistake.

Hissing as she heaved, struggling to get him up in the air, Shiemi was barely able to get off the ground and into her lap, smearing blood all over her kimono. The movement made him grimace, his teeth bared slightly, revealing sharp, pointed fangs to her. "Sorry!" she couldn't help but squeak as she looked down at him helplessly.

He was too heavy for her to carry.

How was she going to pull this off?

A loud groan rumbled through the air and Shiemi looked up to see a tree move towards her, rumbling reassuringly at her. She stared wide eyed at it for a moment before she gave a nodding bow. "Thank you!"

* * *

He groaned as he was slowly roused, grimacing at his soreness and aches came at him, banging his head and filling his senses with pain. Grumbling to himself and being careless, his sharp blue eyes peeked out, dully staring at the wooden roof above his head. He blinked a few times as he stared at it.

...he didn't remember ever coming into a house...

Breathing in the air, the familiar scent of plants filled his nose, and he stiffened when he smelled a human beneath those scents. A human? Humans lived in homes like these. He wasn't in a human's house...was he?

His eyes scoring over the room, to see that he was on a bed, that there was a shelf full of bottled herbs and books, a desk with a single candle and notebook, and door that separated the room from the rest of the house. The place was full of one human's scent, a scent that was so similar to the earth but even the earth couldn't rid the human of her scent.

For a moment, he thought of the blonde he was spying on, but pushed that out of his mind.

She was just a human, there was no reason he should be curious about her. His father was bad enough taking an interest in a human, he didn't want his brothers to gloat and tease that he'd take an interest in humans too. That was the last thing he wanted.

He sat up quickly, intent on fleeing as fast as he could; only to freeze sharply when pain rippled in his head, and he hissed, his claws flying to his skull and clinging to it as he was hammered with a painful dizzy spell. Looks like he moved too fast.

He heard movement from the other room and daringly opened his eyes to see the familiar blonde human girl staring at him with her uneasy green eyes. Dumbly, he stared back at her, hardly believing that the human he had been spying on was here. Glancing around the room, it clicked in his head that this must be her house.

"Ho-how are y-your wounds?" she asked him, her voice soft with a slight tremor as she peered at him. His mouth automatically opened, but no words came out. Nothing to assure her, nothing to scare her. It just seemed like he couldn't bring himself to speak at all. And then he realized that he was all bandaged up and he could even feeling the fading cool of certain solutions warming up against his skin.

She really did help him.

Slowly, he relaxed, turning away since he found he couldn't look into her green eyes, not yet anyway, his tail twitched uncomfortably.

"You ok?" she asked, and he quickly nodded, his facing turning red slightly as he turned away completely peering out the window in hopes to hide his face.

Already he could hear his brothers and their mockery of how much he was like his father, taking an interesting in a human when he didn't plan on taking an interest in.

How typical.

He jumped when her hand lightly ran through his tangled, black hair, moving the strands pleasantly as she overlooked one of the bumps on his head. "Well just stay for a day, if you would. I mean, I know demons can heal really fast, so many just a day would be fine-"

He found that all he could do was lean back in her hand, struggling to keep himself from purring as he mind was in the process of shutting down completely at the feeling.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to take an interest in humans, there had to be a reason for his father after all.

* * *

**i don't know about you guys but every ti me i see rin, i always think about how pretty his eyes are X)**


	4. Rescue

**this is a request from Hanamoto Aika, who wanted rin jealous of amaimon**

**Rescue: creates an automatic and natural bond and feelings of fondness  
**

* * *

Shiemi sighed as she slowly slipped her way home; her brain rattled and jumbled up with words and information about today's lessons. Overloaded to a point she didn't know what to think anymore, and simply wanted to spend the rest of the evening relaxing in her garden. Upon her head, Ni stretched out, cooing happily as he soaked in the looming sunlight above him.

Shiemi paused herself, shielding her eyes and smilingly slightly at the bright clear skies. It really would be a perfect day for the garden; she could already see Ni was itching to run around the garden, playing with other Greenmen that lurked and bloomed among the flowers. Grinning up at Ni, she murmured, "Ready for home Ni?"

A squeal from the Greenman answered her, smiling brightly down at her. Giggling at its energy, she went on her way, inserting her key into a door that would take her to the bridge that lead to home.

It was only a sharp squeal and and a bellowing cry of a crow caught her attention. Turning around, Shiemi saw the crow darting about the courtyard, its beak stabbing at the grass, with something scurrying away. Something small that she could see.

Without thinking, Shiemi darted over waving her arms and scarring off the crow. It screeched at her before it flew off and landing on a near roof, glaring down at the courtyard with its beady, gleaming eyes. Huffing at the bird, Shiemi turned to see what the crow was jabbing at, blinking when she saw a small, green hamster curled on its side, a forming bruise on its side and maybe even a little blood...

Shiemi reached down, scooping up the odd hamster, ignoring its glaring eyes and wincing when its teeth bit into her finger; but she didn't drop it, even when blood oozed out, curling down her hand in thick, heavy drops.

Cradling the hamster, Shiemi went back to the door, keeping her hold on the squirming rebelliously in her hand.

"Just hold on little one," Shiemi murmured to the green hamster, Ni peeking down at it curiously while the odd rodent glared up at them both, as if they were the ones that were making its life miserable.

Shiemi was oblivious to its disdain though, heading straight towards her home. Once inside, Shiemi set to work on the hamster, not even bothering to change yet while Ni drifted off towards the garden, sending one last glance at the patient. Setting her patient down, Shiemi grabbed the nearest salve she could, smearing a little on her finger as she rubbed it into the hamster's side, her other hand keeping it still as she rubbed at the injury.

After a few seconds of struggles, the hamster finally settled down, relaxing a little with the gentle, yet firm rubs at his side ebbed the pain away; his purple eyes peering up at her.

Once all the lotion was rubbed into the hamster's side, she drew away, smiling contently down at it while it peered up at her, suspicious and curious.

"Feeling better?" she asked, smiling down at it. Narrowing its eyes at her, it gave a slightly nod, backing away with a slight limp.

Shiemi drew away, satisfied with her success. Cleaning up the area, she was just washing her hands when Rin slipped, grumbling with an armful of books. Leaning out from the hall, Shiemi greeted Rin as she dried her hands, disappearing back into the kitchen.

With a small smile and bright wag of his tail, Rin drifted past the counter to set up in the den for some study time together.

He noticed something though; while the air was always filled with the heavy smell of herbs, it was more potent today, like one was opened and used. And it felt like someone was glaring holes in the back of his head.

Turning slowly and peering out around the room, Rin didn't find anything out of the ordinary; till something moved. His eyes immediately darting towards it, Rin blinked, a little baffled at the sight of a green hamster glaring at him with very purple eyes. Next to being green, the oddest thing about it was the notable pointed tip on its head, standing tall and to attention.

It sort of reminded him of Amaimaon...

"Back!" Shiemi chirped, bringing Rin back to reality.

"What's with the hamster," Rin asked immediately.

"He was being attacked by a mean crow, just brought him back to heal his side," she explained easily, turning and smiling down at the rodent. "I don't have any hamster food, but you can have some sweet bread," she told it, offering a rather large crumb to it. It perked at the word sweet, eagerly taking the crumb from her hand and digging in, squeaking in delight at the taste.

Rin wasn't as delighted though.

"What happened to your hand?" he asked, his eyes glued to the red dot on her hand, with barely any blood leaking out.

"Oh!" Shiemi exclaimed, sheepish, "I forgot about that... the little one bit me when I grabbed him. Sort of forgot about it while I was treating him..."

Rin shot the hamster a dark look. "How ungrateful," he muttered, his tail curling in agitation. The hamster paused, turning to return the glare.

Shiemi shot Rin a look though, her brow up as her lips curled down. "Now Rin," she lectured, "he didn't know that I was trying to help, he was just being defensive. Any animal would have."

"Is he even sorry about it?" the half demon huffed, even demons could be apologetic about some of their mischief at times.

"He doesn't need to apologize," Shiemi huffed, reaching out and gathering up her smaller guest, setting him on her shoulder and breaking off smaller pieces of the bread for the rodent to chew; giggling fondly at the faces he made as he eagerly ate out of her hands.

Rin glared, a little agitated at the sight of the hamster easily allowed on her shoulder, the pointed tip on top of its head waving about boldly.

There was just something off about it; something he didn't like.

As if sensing his thoughts, the hamster turned to him, staring at him with smug, taunting purple eyes that made the half demon scowl darkly; especially when Shiemi cooed at the small creature, rubbing the bottom of its chin; much to the rodents pleasure.

"Isn't he just adorable!" Shiemi doted, giggling at the hamster's antics as it leaned into her pets, a happy and content look on its face as it was massaged.

"Yeah... adorable," Rin grumbled, glaring at the small thing that was taking up all of Shiemi's attention and time. Time that seemed like it should be reserved for him and him alone.

But Shiemi was the only one that could give him that time; and she seemed intent on giving it to something else. Grumbling, Rin grabbed the nearest book, deciding to was better to try studying than sulking at the happy hamster, that didn't bother containing his delighted squeaks as Shiemi doted on the animal.

Just listening to them and her giggles made Rin clutch the book, his tail swaying with his agitation.

He wouldn't lash out or get in their face about this... he was old and mature enough not to overreact about this... he wasn't going to throw the freaky still hamster out the window... well, not until Shiemi had her attention elsewhere at least...

With the words blending into a blur before his eyes, Rin's mind worked out the kinks of a possible plan that would free him from the sudden annoyance that occupied Shiemi's home, an evil smirk growing on his lips as a plan formed.

Before he could commence, Shiemi rose up, the hamster still on her shoulder as she beamed brightly. "I'm going to get more bread since this little one ate it all," she lightly teased, poking the rodent in the stomach, making it grumble at her, an almost pout on its face. "Want anything Rin?"

"Wha? Oh, I no..."

"Ok, give me a shout when you need me!"

"Wait Shie..."

And she was gone, leaving the demon alone, by himself in the den with only books to keep him company, his hand raised in the air as if he was trying to stop her before she was gone.

Soon giggles and squeals came out from the kitchen as Shiemi doted on the cuter, smaller guest she had; never mind how odd the hamster was.

Rin scowled, grumbling darkly at this turn of events.

Stupid freaky hamster with its stupid freaky fur and its stupid freaky point and its stupid freaky eyes-

* * *

**hope that was enjoyable; been in those moods where i want to write but nothing amazing is coming out, if anyone gets what i mean?**

**anyway, originally, Shiemi was going to meet Amaimon in his "human" form but couldn't think of how it would go at the moment, i know he would purposely be all touchy with shiemi in front of rin but that's about all i had.**

**then i thought of shiemi finding him as a hamster and just wrote it out ^^; **

**hope it was good, if not, i'll write another chapter with amaimon; might do it anyway**


	5. Childhood

**This chapter here is a "what if" Rin and Shiemi met as kids, specifically around the time shiemi took her first trip by herself. **

**this was actually supposed to be like Ch 2 but due to internet problems, i couldn't post it then, so here it is now ^^**

**Childhood: a time when life was easier and open, with nothing complicated to dampen and darken it.**

* * *

The screams and wails of children filled the air like sirens on a street, loud and dreading that caught all attention. It was automatic for people to look to see the cause of the children's distress, but they looked away just as quickly. Standing as tall as an eight year old could, with wild black hair, vivid glaring, blue eyes, and a present snarl to chase off any bystanders; most knew better to get near the boy with the sharp and violent temper. So as they always did, they looked away and sped off, knowing full well that only Shiro could calm his son down in his tantrums; no one would bother trying to get close to the wild child.

In their haste to get away though, none of the bystanders noticed the lump of fushia and blonde huddled on the ground next to the wild boy, and how it trembled, covered in shoe prints, dirt, bruises, and scratches.

It was only the wild boy himself that noticed.

Huffing from his shout and sudden charge at the group, the boy turned to the colorful lump on the ground, arching a brow and frowning down at it.

That wasn't Yukio. He was sure of that, unless his brother decided to wear a dress…

The thought brought out a snicker in him, his hand flying up to cover it. The thought of his brother, wearing a silly pink dress like this…

But still, the child on the ground next to him was still crouched, still shrunk as small as they could be. The boy decided that this wasn't his brother, his brother would have rose up by now, big fat tears coming out of the corner of his eyes as he stared up at him pitifully. And this child didn't smell like his brother either. His brother didn't smell like flowers and soil. Not all the time anyway. Probably the only time he smelled like that was when he was shoved to the ground.

The smell of flowers and soil was much stronger anyway, so that must have been the child's natural scent; shrugging it off, the boy bent down, his eyes peering at the mysterious child curiously. Reaching out, he lightly touched the blonde hair, it was the first time he saw anyone with such hair, feeling soft, silk strands beneath his finger tip. Fascinated with the soothing texture, he pressed the rest of his hand against it, relishing the feel of it under his palm.

It was only when the head flinched away from his hand did he snap out of it. Blinking stupidly, he retracted his hand, staring at the trembling form before him. Lightly, he tapped the child, ignoring how they flinched at his touch. "Hey," he tried, "get up."

"Go away," came the broken whimper.

He paused at that, and then shot a dark glare in the direction the children fled. It was their fault he was in this situation. Sighing at his predicament, he resumed poking the child, ignoring each flinch as he lightly tapped them. "Come on," he urged, "get up. You're easy pickings like this."

The child trembled at his words and touch.

Sighing, he resent from touching them and leaned forward till his head was close to theirs. "Are you really going to let them kick you to the ground?" he asked. When he got no response, he added, "They're gone, the mean kids, they're gone. I scared them away. I'm not going to hurt you."

Slowly, the child shifted, moving about and peeking up at him, giving him a glimpse of big green eyes. Leaning away, he offered the child a big, toothy grin. "I'm Rin!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger at himself, "Rin Okumura."

Finally, the child rose up, revealing round face smeared with tears and soaked with tears with big, shy green eyes. It took him a few seconds to realize that this was a _girl _he was talking too, which was rare since most would already be running away screaming now. Frowning, he stared at the odd girl before him. She was different to what he was used to seeing in girls. The girls here didn't have such blonde hair, and he's never seen green eyes on anyone, and she was also really small, even smaller than Yukio. The girl was different from what he was used to seeing, but not in a bad way. He was curious, so very curious.

"—mi…"

"Huh?" he jerked suddenly, suddenly realizing that she was talking. The little girl flushed before him, bowing her head as she quivered, "S-sss..so..so..sorry…"

"Its fine," he eased quickly. "Just tell me again, I wasn't paying attention."

The girl's face got even redder and she seemed to shrink even more. Timidly, she nodded, mumbling out, "Sh..Shiemi Mor…Moriyama…"

"Shiemi Moriyama," he tried himself.

She nodded jerkily.

He grinned an assuring smile at her, reaching out his hand for her to take. She jumped slightly at the hand before nervously taking it. Rin easily pulled her up and back on her feet, overlooking her dirty and scratched up body. "Let's take you back to my house so we can get you clean," he offered, grimacing darkly at her appearance. Shiemi simply nodded wordlessly before letting him drag her away.

"Hey, why were they beating you up?" Rin asked, glancing back at her. The only thing he could think of as to why she was bullied was because of the dress she wore. He didn't see people wearing them unless it was a holiday. He did play with the idea it was her hair, but he thought it was pretty, so it couldn't be that.

She answered him, her voice stronger than before, "They were carving into a tree."

"A tree?" he repeated.

"Yes."

"You were getting beaten up because you were defending a tree?" he asked skeptically.

"They were carving into it!" she snapped, her green eyes narrowed as she glared at him sharply, all timidness gone. He almost jumped at her stare, but quickly shook it off. "That's a stupid reason to get beaten up," he stated gruffly, turning away so he could focus on the road; his hand holding hers securely.

"No it isn't!" she argued.

"Yes it is," he grumbled, "its just a stupid tree."

"It is not!"

"Fine," he sighed," its not." But it still was, but he decided to keep that to himself. "Anyway, when we get home, you can use my clothes, we'll put your dress in the washer I guess."

"Its not a dress," she mumbled. "It's a kimono."

"Oh," he mused, "so that's what they're called."

Satisfied that he learned something today, Rin sped, dragging the startled girl behind him all the way home.

"This is my home," Rin declared, stopping before a church. Shiemi blinked up at it, tilting her head curiously at the sight of it. "Exorcists?" she murmured.

"Huh?" he asked, catching her words.

She jerked at his words, staring up at him with wide eyes. "Exorcists," she repeated, pointing at the church. Rin blinked at her. "It's a church," he said.

She pouted at him, before quickly looking away and turning to her fingers, twining them as she mumbled, "Don't exorcists live here?"

"No," he scoffed, "but priests do. I would know if an exo- whatever lived here."

"B-but I'm sure…"

"Come on," he insisted, dragging her towards his home eagerly, beaming all the way, "let's just get ye cleaned up." He was excited, after all, this was the first kid he brought home, and it was a girl too! Wait till dad heard about it. Easily, he kicked open the door, shouting a firm greeting and making Shiemi jump slightly. It was quiet though and Rin guessed they were the only ones there at the moment. Muttering under his breathe, Rin dragged Shiemi to his room, letting go of her hand so he could tackle his dresser.

"You can wear my clothes till we get that clean... though I don't know how to use a washer so we might have to wait till dad or someone gets here that does," Rin rambled as he dug through his clothes for something that would fit.

"Th-thank you," she mumbled, wringing her hands nervously.

Rin smiled at her from over his shoulder. "No problem!" he chirped, then sharply exclaiming excitedly when he found a shirt an shorts that would fit. Eagerly, he tossed it to her, the sudden force of it making her stumble back a little.

"Oops," he chuckled sheepishly, "sorry, I'm a little strong..." Maybe a lot but she didn't have to know that, yet. SHe blinked wide eyed at him before she returned the smile shyly, adjusting the clothes in her arm.

"You can change in my room," he said, leaving so she'll have privacy, "just turn left down the hall when your done."

She smiled, nodding to him as he slipped out and shut the door behind him. Grinning excitedly at this rare turn of events, Rin scampered to the kitchen, eager to have a new taste person for whatever he could whip up.

Once she had the clothes off and her kimono in had, Shiemi peeked out curiously, staring down either hall, half expecting a stranger or Rin to appear and question her reasons to being here. Sometimes places like this were finicky like that, she knew certain people up at the school were like that. Like the one student, Angel, always told her that it was strictly for exorcists and not lowly gardeners like her, her mother, and her grandmother. After being told that, she really, truly avoided churches and buildings like these. It was weird being inside one for once.

Licking her lips nervously, Shiemi followed the boy's instructions and headed left down the hall,coming across a kitchen where she found Rin scrambling around with a big grin on his face. "Hey Shiemi!" he exclaimed, "Have you eaten lunch yet? Well I'm making some so I hope you're hungry."

Shiemi could only nod, watching in wonder as he moved easily around the kitchen and chopped and arranged the food; it almost looked like magic.

"Go ahead and sit at the table, I'm almost done here," he told her from over his shoulder.

"Oh,ok," Shiemi uttered, turning and peeking into what appeared to be a dining room. One last glance at her busy host, then Shiemi slipped in, feeling small in the larger dining room. She just slid into a near chair before Rin came zipping out, eagerly putting two plates up on the table and hopping into his own seat. "Tell me what you think!" he said quickly before digging into his meal.

Shiemi blinked at the food before her, her eyes going wide and bright.

It was onigiri, a dish her grandmother would make every now and then. Reaching out, she eagerly bit in, squeling in delight at the taste. She turned to the beaming boy, exclaiming, "Its delicious!"

Rin grinned brightly and knowingly, snickering in delight at his success.

"How are you so good at cooking?" Shiemi asked in wonder, taking another bite.

"I like food and no one here was really good at cooking so I made my own," he told her, grinning, "now I'm the chief here in this house."

"Wow," Shiemi breathed, staring at Rin in wonder. She smiled brightly, laughing softly to herself as she admitted, "I want to take over my grandma's garden."

Rin perked up at this, blinking at her curiously. "Her garden?" he asked.

Shiemi nodded. "Mommy's always busy and never has time for," she said in a bitter voice, "but grandma always has time. She even lets me help with her garden. Its a very magical place, her garden. She has so many flowers and plants and they all seem to sparkle; even fairies live there."

Rin snorted, "Fairies don't exist."

Shiemi snapped, "They do too! They're called Greenmen and they're always nice to me!"

"Sure sure," Rin snickered, causing Shiemi to scowl, her face going red. "Rin you're mean!" she exclaimed.

Rin paused, blinking slightly when the words hit his ears. For some reason he couldn't figure out, the words struck a bad cord with him. He couldn't have her angry at him. For some reason he just didn't like it.

Licking away any rice smeared on his face, he gently insisted, "Hey, Shiemi."

She ignored him, a dark pout on her face as she angrily munched away on her onigiri.

"Come one, don't angry... I've never seen a fairy before, so I'm not sure if they do exist..."

Shiemi slowly turned to him, peering at him with her big green eyes. "You've really never seen a fairy before?" she whispered.

"Nope."

Shiemi hummed curiously as she ate the last of her onigiri, Rin following her example. Both content, Rin suddenly asked, "Hey Shiemi, wanna swing?"

"Swing?" she asked.

Rin gasped at her. "You've never swung before?"

"No..." Shiemi uttered, suddenly nervous, especially when Rin smirked.

* * *

Shiemi screamed and giggled in pure hysteria as she clung to the chains. Rin laughed with her, pushing her back whenever she got close enough.

"This is amazing!" Shiemi cried as she was swung to and fro, Rin snickering behind, sharing her delight. Once satisfied that she would be able to swing on her own, he leaps onto the other swing, joining her in the air.

"Knew you'd like it," he called out to her, grinning. Shiemi merely laughed "Its like flying!"

"That's one of the reasons I like it so much," Rin said, easily keeping up, and even doing a little show to wow his guest. "Hey Shiemi look!" he called out, swinging with his hands off the chain. Shiemi gasped at him. "Isn't that dangerous?" she asked him as they zipped by.

"Not for a professional like me," Rin boasted, though he did grab the chains as the swing leaned up, alining with the ground. Shiemi giggled, watching in curious wonder as Rin showed off his swinging skills. Turning away and thinking about trying it herself, Shiemi went stiff in her swing when she saw a man approaching, nearly jumping when Rin jumped out of his own swing, shouting, "DAD!"

That was his dad? She never would have guessed or made the connection. They didn't look alike, and she had no idea on personalities. Angel's words echoed in her head, reminding her that she had no place to be in the same space as the Paladin. She had no idea she was in his home hanging out with his son.

It instantly felt wrong, swinging in the swing, being in Rin's presence. She was worried that Angel would find out and what he would do if he did.

Before she could think of the horrors, Rin easily stopped her swing, eagerly saying, "Come on! I want you to meet my dad!"

Fearfully, Shiemi shook her head quivering at the idea. Rin frowned at her and the fear in her eyes. "Why not?" he asked.

Shiemi fidgeted uneasily, watching as the Paladin drew nearer, she could see his squinted eyes peering at the two of them. "Be, beacause Angel says that I shouldn't be near."

Rin frowned darkly at this, almost growling. "Who's Angel?"

"A scary man."

Rin scoffed, puffing out his chest. "I bet I'm scarier than him. And my dad definitely is." He grinned at her. "Dad'll love to meet you, I know it."

"B-but Angel-" she was cut off when Rin grabbed her wrist and dragged her off the swing, half running up to his father with a big grin. "Dad! Dad! Dad!" Rin shouted as he ran up to the Paladin, who grinned down at them, watching curiously as Rin and Shiemi slipped up before him.

"What's this?" the Paladin asked, peering down at Shiemi who quivered under his gaze. He moved it towards Rin, arcing a brow at his son. "Don't tell me you kidnapped the poor child?"

Rin smile instantly turned into a dark scowl. "I did not," he growled, gently tugging Shiemi around to his side. "This is Shiemi, I saved her," he declared proudly. Shiemi bowed her head, uttering a nervous hello.

The Paladin smiled down at the child, reaching out, he lightly messed up her soft blonde locks. "You're Miss Moryama's daughter arn't you?" he asked her, ignoring Rin as he stared up at him curiously. Blushing heavily under his hand, Shiemi nodded timidly.

"What are you doing out here?"

Shiemi peeked up at him, mumbling out, "Trying to find Amahara..."

Shiro blinked down at her before he drew away with a fond laugh. "Herbalists," he chuckled. Smiling down at the two, he voiced, "Why don't you join us for dinner Shiemi? My other son Yukio is off at camp so Rin's by himself for a few days, I'm sure he'd love the company today."

Shiemi nodded, a shy smile slowly growing on her face. "I'd love too," she said, earning a delighted shout from Rin. Grabbing her wrist, he dragged her back to the house, talking on and on about all the fun they could do here, leaving Shiro behind to watch as his foster son drag the poor girl around. Fondly, he shook his head, smiling as he chuckled at the outcome.

He was sure Moriyama would be just as delighted to hear of this as he was. Both their kids needed some friends after all. That reminds him, he should call her and check to see if she would mind having Shiemi eat with them.

Nothing worse than having an angry parent on your tail, and he's had enough experience of that.

* * *

**Even when he was still human with his demon heritage sealed away, I'd like to think Rin's nose might have been a bit more sensitive than most average humans, along with his other senses in general, maybe even Yukio too. **

**...can kimonos go in a washer? that i don't know ^^; **

**Angel's connection to Shiemi in this? well, i wouldn't call it much of one, but its an idea that came to me of the possibility. all exocists had to go to the herbal shop a few times, i'd imagine. chances are that Angel has as well, and i can see him scaring a little girl to stay away from the building. **

**swings are my favorite playground toys, which is funny since i'm uncomfortable around heights XD**


	6. Game

**Game: a fun activity or challenge to humor; often it always comes with a prize to compete over**

Rin sighed as he rose up, groaning as his muscles ached in response for crouching for so long. He had no idea how tedious this was, he even wondered how Shiemi could do it. His body ached and bones were sore, he was covered head to toe with dirt, he was sweaty from the sun, and even his tail was as flat as a pole on the ground.

But he was done. And that was good enough for him. He was quite satisfied with the work he did today. Even if they were a little crooked... maybe a lot crooked... ok, maybe he wasn't as satisfied as he was a moment ago, but still, he got them in the ground...

"They look like they're about to topple over."

"Shut up Amaimon!" he hissed, his tail perking and thrashing angrily.

His green half brother simply hummed as he neutrally stared down at the sorry excuse of planting that Rin tried. The flowers were in the ground, Rin was successful in getting it that far, though they didn't look to sturdy or even well placed. "Are those stems crooked?" he asked, raising a brow at the poor handling care. "Didn't you listen to Shiemi brother? Plants are delica-"

"SHUT UP!" Rin snarled, snapping his fangs as his hissed and spat. "Its not like you did better," he grumbled.

"Yeah," Amaimon mused, turning to stare at what he planted, placing his forefinger and thumb around his jade eyes, "it could be a little straighter..."

Rin frowned, following his half brother's stare and gawking when he saw a perfectly planted tree, standing tall and proud over the ground.

"But I guess it'll have to do," Amaimon declared, leaning back and nodding to himself. He turned to Rin and added, "And at least I'm not as dirty as you."

Rin growled and choked on his words, trembling and twitching angrily. Even Amaimon was the better gardener, and he was a demon, just as destructive and out of control as he was. It was unfortunate that Rin forgot the big factor that his half brother was the King of Earth.

"Now if you'll excuse me brother, I'm going to get some candy."

"SCREW MEPHESTO!" Rin roared, diving at Amaimon, his blue flames blazing. The Earth King nimbly leaps away, easily landing a good distance from Rin. "My my," Amaimon chastised, "brother certainly has a temper. Is it really that bad that I'm the better gardener?"

Rin dove at him with a feral growl, swiping his claws at the green demon. Amaimon easily evaded, dancing away from his brother and taking them both to the roofs of the school, high above the rest of the world.

Back in the garden, Shiemi sighed as she slipped in, closing the gate behind her as she balanced the groceries along her elbows. "Alright Rin, Amaimon, I'm back..." Shiemi called, blinking when she saw that the garden was empty. Raising a brow, she searched the skies till she saw the promising flare of blue erupt eastward, two dark figures darting about. Shaking her head fondly, she went to the little area where they should have worked on.

In place was a new, perfectly planted pomegranate tree, much to Shiemi's delight, and a small group of crookedly planted flowers. Well, it was easy to see what Rin planted. Smiling fondly, she gently set the groceries down and slightly adjusted the flowers so that they had a better chance.

Satisfied, Shiemi rose up, ignoring the shaking boom behind her that rattled the whole school, and set to putting her groceries, her thoughts drifting to relaxing in the garden while having some tea. It was a nice day for it.

* * *

It was a good few hours after dark when Rin slipped in, easily climbing through the tree tops, his tail swaying in turn to help with the balance as he crept along, keeping a watchful eye out for Shiemi. He was unsure if she did her nightly watering or not, better to stay on the safe side though.

When he got to the desired area, he carefully peeked out, searching for any sign of the blonde.

Finding none, Rin nimbly falls out of the tree, as silent as a cat, he crept towards where he planted his share, observing them intently as he contemplated with himself.

They looked better than before; he was relieved to see that... though they still looked sort of crooked...

Growling to himself, Rin tried to gently adjust the plants to his liking, trying to make them more appealing, something that would match the rest of Shiemi's garden, or should match the rest of her garden.

So intent on his work, he failed to notice the presence coming over and looming over him, watching as he grumbled at the flowers.

"I think they're fine," Shiemi voiced, making Rin jump slightly.

"Shiemi?!" he exclaimed, a slight blush passing over his cheeks. He was caught.

"I think they're fine," she repeated patiently, smiling down at the flowers he was trying to "fix".

"They don't look too good though," Rin grumbled. Shiemi giggled, reaching out and running her fingers through his hair, weaving skillfully through the strands as she stared down at the flowers, coaxing the half demon to lean against her listening to him purr slightly.

"They're fine Rin, they'll fit in just as well as the rest."

Rin lightly scoffed at that, but didn't reach out to mess with them anymore, they still did look crooked in his eyes; but for the moment, all he could care about were the nimble fingers going through his hair,

* * *

**...well then. originally, this was supposed to be a short chapter of rin trying to help shiemi in her garden and full of good fluff, then amaimon appeared for some reason XD i don't know if you would count this as jealous rin over amaimon, but i doubt that this would be the green demon's last appearance, i love amaimon just as much as rin and mephisto X) **

**as for why amaimon is there...i don't know, i guess he's mephisto's guest and is allowed to wander around so long as he doesn't cause trouble.**

**when i walk the dogs, i pass a pomegranate tree, i always find it to be pretty, especially when it blooms. too bad it doesn't bare any fruit, that's be nice to have one, especially since there's a bench close by. **


	7. Eidolon

**sorry this update took forever! i had writer's block and a story to complete so it took forever to get back on the road with Demon Mates. **

**anyway, any ideas for a chapter people are welcomed to share ^^**

**Eidolon: an ever watching phantom that should never be seen.**

* * *

He watched the playing children, dully listening to their rambunctious laughter and squeals, wincing at the occasional high note that some reached in the mist of their fun. He didn't remember ever squealing as loudly as they did, at least, not in fun. Usually when he squealed, it was because one of his brothers grabbed his tail. Just the memory of it made him twitch uncomfortably. Only mates could touch a tail without consequences and pain for the demon.

A mate was the last thing on his mind at the moment though.

For the moment, he simply eyed and watched the children play, trying to remember a time were he enjoyed such antics. No such memories came to him; te only other children he had to play with were his brothers, and most were older than him and his twin. And his twin even grew distant with him as time went on. They started to play less and less as his brother lost himself in knowledge.

He sighed. Life was boring these days. The only thing to do was train, pick fights with Amaimon, or cause havoc in the world above. He came up to cause havoc, and aggravate his elder Mephisto, but stopped when he saw the children. Such happy and carefree children...

He thought about making discord here, but didn't really up to it at the moment. He sighed again, ready to slip off and disappear; he'd find something else to do.

"Mister?" a small voice popped up, stopping him before he could even move. Blinking his gleaming sapphire eyes, he turned and stared down at a small child with rare blonde hair and wide green eyes. Blinking down at her, he huffed and turned away. Only to jump when small hand lightly touched his tail, sending a spark of electricity through.

Stiffly, he stood away from the child, his tail coiled shyly on the other side of as he stared at the girl with wide eyes. She stared back up at him, equally surprised and startled by his sudden reaction. "Y-you..." he uttered, his tail curling and twitching with his unease. "You touched my tail..."

She blinked up at him, shifting uneasily on her feet. "So it real?" she asked him.

"Y-yeah..."

Her eyes got even wider. "Wow," she whispered, "I never met a person with at tail fore!"

"You can see me?" he uttered helplessly. This was the first time a human was able to see him without him revealing himself. He didn't know how to react or handle this.

"You an elf?" she asked him, stepping closer and peering up at him, hardly afraid like she should be. "Why are you on fire?"

Shaking himself to snap out of it, he leaned close to her, snapping his fangs intimidatingly. Humans should fear and dread him, not be so carefree and asking him such questions. "I'm a demon," he growled. When she became a little stiff before him, he almost smirked. This is how it should be after all. Demons were above humans, they were feared and infamous and-

"Well, you're a really pretty demon."

And then she ruined it.

He visibly deflated at that. "Pr-pretty?!" he squeaked.

"Yep!" the girl chirped brightly, oblivious to the insult she gave the demon.

"I am not pretty," he growled, "I'm a very scary demon."

The child merely smiled though, hardly deterred by his attitude. "You have pretty fire," she admitted, "and eyes. I never saw eyes like yours before."

He blinked at her, leaning away as he twitched slightly in embarrassment. It was the first time it was remarked that his eyes and fire were pretty. His own mother didn't even remark about such things, not that she could. She had passed at his and Yukio's birth after all. His father and brothers never remarked on him being pretty either, not that he would ever expect them too. The thought brought a dark grimace to his face. Just imagine one of his brothers finding out; he'd never hear the end of it.

"I'm Shiemi," the little girl offered him, smiling brightly and drawing him out of his frightening thoughts.

"Rin," he replied stiffly, turning away from her, though he did settle himself against a tree, watching the children again. The girl easily settled beside him, smiling like there was nothing wrong with the world or this situation.

"Are there more demons like you Rin?" she asked, scooting closer as she looked up at him with big eyes.

"Yes," Rin found himself answering, settling down grimly, pouting at the child as he glared off into space. This kid should cower.

"Do they look like you?"

"No."

"Do they-"

"Kid."

She paused, blinking up at him curiously. He faltered slightly, but then growled quickly. "What's wrong with you?"

She faltered, looking hurt at his words. Distress sparked up inside him and quickly he asked, "I-I mean, shouldn't be with your mother or father?" All the while his tail frantically lashed about.

For some reason, this depressed the girl even more. "Mama doesn't have time for me," she mumbled out, "and daddy's gone. There's only grandma but she's busy today," she smiled a small, uneasy grin at him, "so I came by myself today." Rin eyed her quietly before he scoffed to himself, his tail wounding around and lightly tapping at the child beside him. She jumped at the sudden contact, then giggled as she poked after the tail, specifically at the fluff on the end.

"What about those kids?" he asked as soon as he sensed that she was brighter and in a much better mood. She glanced past his tail and peeked up at him before resuming her focus on his tail, weaving her fingers through the fur every time she managed to get close, almost making Rin purr, almost.

"They don't usually play with me," she shrugged, smiling when his tail bounced up, looming above her and making her each for it. "Why?" he pressed, dropping his tail enough for her to grab the end. "I can't keep up with them," she explained. "Momma says I'm sick, so I can't do things like other kids. So I never play with them, and they don't play with me."

"You seem fine to me," he mused.

Shiemi shrugged. "Grandma says I'd be fine, but I do get tired easily, and I cough a lot when I'm tired."

Rin hummed, unconsciously letting his tail drop completely, allowing the small blonde to play with his tail completely; each stroke and brush of her small hands felt pleasant. "Well... I guess I could play with you... sometimes," he offered her shyly, shifting around uneasily.

Shiemi paused in her work of wrapping a pink ribbon around his tail, one that mamma put in her hair today. She looked up at him, and smiling as she considered the idea of playing with the demon, even if he did look like one odd elf that was on fire. "I'd like that," she eased, finishing the knot she was tying so now he would have a pretty tail.

"Hey!" Rin spit out in alarm, finally realizing what she was doing with his tail. It flew out of her hold and he stared at the pink bubbly ribbon helplessly.

"Now you have a pretty tail," Shiemi eased, unaware that she was doing little to help the demon's case and that her words only depressed him more.

Well, at least his brothers will never know about this... hopefully...


	8. Trust

**Trust: an easing feeling and bond with another, knowing that they will always be there to support**

Shiemi jumped when a loud bang shoved against her door. Wide eyed, she sat up in her bed, staring at her door. Lightning flashed and thrashed on the other side, lighting up the door's outlines. Heart pounding, she waited, watching as the door shuddered against the storm, the thunder rattling the wood an her home. Nervously, Shiemi rose, wrapping a blanket around herself as she drew closer to the door.

It was just the storm.

Or so she kept telling herself.

Or so she would like to believe.

There was nothing on the other side of her door. Nothing but the storm, and nothing evil.

When Shiemi rested her hand against the wood, about to look through the peek hole, she blinked in surprise when she found the smooth wood warm under her hand. A soothing, fire warm. Immediately, she opened her door, peeking out and gasping when she saw Rin slumped against her door in his demon form. His long ears were slanted down, his blue fire out and steaming against the rain, though they did little to dim the glowing blaze. There was blood covering him from all over and Shiemi knew what she had to do.

Slow opening her door more, she caught Rin as he started to fall forward with it. Grunting at the weight, she awkwardly dragged him to her bed, huffing as she struggled to get him up and sitting.

"Rin?" she managed, bending down to his face, seeing his eyes close and him out of it. Frowning worriedly, she slowly took a hold of his clothes, brushing them open to see the damage. She jumped when a clawed hand wrapped tightly around her wrist and she looked up to see smoldering blue eyes glare at her and for a moment, Shiemi was sure that Rin didn't recognize her. "Rin?" she repeated. The flare of color flickered at her, the red around his pupils blazing before it dimmed and only the bold color of cobalt blue staring at her. A few seconds later, his eyes fell closed and the grip on his wrist dropped as he slumped forward, leaning heavily against her.

Standing stiffly for a moment, Shiemi slowly pushed Rin back and continuing to remove his shirt and getting a good view of the damage.

Claw marks.

Bloody, large claws marks that raked over his skin. It must have been a nasty demon by the looks of it. Shiemi sighed, staring at him darkly. Why did he always have to get in serious situations like this? Even with his fast healing demon blood, he shouldn't always be so reckless. He did have worse than this, Shiemi knew.

Memories of the climax and drama with Satan trying to get Earth and Gehenna as one... all that blood Rin lost...

Pushing those memories back, Shiemi set to work. She completely removed his ruined shirt, washed away the blood and keeping the wounds clean as they gradually closed. Rin only twitched each time the cloth she was using brushed up against the healing wound, other then those, he was still and exhausted.

When the wound was completely closed and even the red marks of them were fading, Shiemi drew away with a relieved sigh. Only to jump seconds later when thunder bellowed outside. Turning to her window, she watched the storm rage outside, worrying over the flowers. The trees could handle this no problem, the flowers, she wasn't too sure.

A soft thud brought her back to her unexpected patient, and she rolled her eyes when she saw him slumped back on her bed, snoring slightly. She pouted at him. "That's my bed Rin," she softly grumbled at him. Rumbling in his sleep, he rolled over on his side, his flames thankfully extinguished and his long ears shrinking back to pointed tips. His tail was still out, as slump and still as the rest of his body.

Shiemi pondered her situation for a moment. She could sleep on the floor... but that was the last thing she was in the mood for. And it was her bed...

"Oh I'm too tired to care," she uttered, joining the half demon and collapsing on her bed. She'd worry about it later in morning. For now, she'd enjoy her human furnace and his calming presence to soothe her worries of the storm away.


	9. Assurance

**yeah i know its short. **

**sorry that things are going so slow with Demon Mates, ideas have been slow or i have been struggling on figuring out how to start some. in truth, i'm considering ending DM soon, but it'll continue on for a while longer. if nothing else comes to me, i'll be ending it.**

**people are welcomed to use these chapters for their own stories, just mention where if was inspired from.**

**Assurance: something that will always calm and ease you, show you that its ok. **

* * *

Shiemi huffed as she pouted at the mirror, more specifically at her hair.

After some encouragement from Paku, Shiemi decided to play with her hair and expand on it, see what else she could do to make it pretty. Paku and even Izumo said in her own way that she could be pretty if she put her hair up. It wasn't often that Shiemi ever did, but she didn't see much of a reason not too.

She blushed, a little nervous and flustered.

Paku made a comment that Rin might think if she looked cute if she put her hair up. Though Shiemi was sure Rin wouldn't really care what she was wearing or how her hair was... it wasn't unappealing. And seemed worth the chance to give it a try. If she didn't like it, she could always take it down and forget about it.

And she probably would either way.

This wasn't even her hair bands. She had swiped two from Rin, after checking that he still had enough for his own use, especially since he only used one for when he was studying.

So here she was in the empty hall of Rin and Yukio's building, staring at her reflection and debating with herself. Should it be a ponytail instead? Or pigtails? Should it be up and have an antenna?

She groaned to herself, pouting at the mirror.

For now, it really didn't matter. Nothing she did was working and always came out crooked and messy and-

"Shiemi?"

She squealed, jumping high into the air as she turned around to find Rin standing there at the tops of the staircase behind her, looking confused, his blue eyes locking onto the messily done pigtails hanging at the side of her head.

"Um..." was all she could emit as she stiffened, unconsciously fidgeting with her fingers. "I...I was... um... well, you see..."

"Need help?" Rin asked, breaking off her clumsy stutter as he tilted his head, still eyeing the pigtails curiously.

"Yes," she squeaked.

Cracking her an assuring grin, Rin slipped closer to her side, making Shiemi feel short as he easily towered over her, reaching up and gently tugging at her hair. She jumped slightly at the contact, feeling his warm fingers weaving through her hair, evening it out and gathering it into a large bunch. Taking one of the hair bands from her, he gently curled it around and keeping it steady.

Shiemi watched the process curiously, noting that Rin did a better job than she did. He wasn't as good as Izumo or Paku when they did hair, but it was much better than her either way. Once one side was secured, he went to the other, his tail flickering behind him, doing the same thing to her hair, making her shiver slightly at the pleasing feeling. No wonder he liked it when she petted him.

"There we go," he declared, drawing away with a broad smile at his work. Smiling, Shiemi took in a good look at herself in the mirror, trying to see what Paku was going on about. It was a weird sight seeing her hair hanging out at the sides, maybe cute...

"Not bad huh?" Rin asked with a smirk.

Shiemi smiled, a healthy flush on her cheeks. "Thanks."

Rin returned it easily. Only to drop it just as quickly as he eyed her. Curiously, he asked, "But what brought this on?"

Shiemi blinked before sheepishly offering, "Well... I'm just checking out something that Puka and Izumo mentioned to me. And there was no reason not too so..."

"Well its not bad," Rin offered then sheepishly admitted, "but I do like your hair down. It think it was fine the way it is."

Shiemi blinked then smiled.

"Thank you Rin."

* * *

**this chapter was inspired by a picture i saw of rin putting up shiemi's hair in a pigtail, it was so cute~**


	10. Promise

**Rin and Shiemi fans! write some stories! Demon Mates will end soon! and by how rediculously long these chapters are taking, very soon...but i will try to keep it going a bit longer but don't expect much.  
**

**this is a sequel/ongoing of Eidolon**

* * *

**Promise: a vow to always keep close, a vow that will always secure and will be remembered.  
**

Shiemi bent down, gently easing the flower before the tombstone before rearing back, and staring at it and the other next to it; feeling more alone than she has ever been in her life. Her mother has joined her grandmother, leaving this world for the next.

It was something she was expecting, for a long time with her mother's poor health and constant smoking, they both knew what was on the way. While her mother accepted it, Shiemi was still struggling to grasp it. Her father was never with them and her own mother passed away, never mind that her daughter was still around, clinging to nothing except the garden her grandmother adored when her own mother couldn't reach back out to her, to join her.

She felt more than saw a presence draw near, someone taller casting her in shadows as they both stared down at the grave.

"Did you know her?" she asked aloud, not even bothering to look up to see who joined her, not particularly caring at the moment.

"No," came the rumble at her side, sounding deeper and rougher than any man's voice Shiemi's heard... not that she knew many. She almost looked up to see what this man looked like, but her eyes stayed on the grave, her mind swimming around the last of her family that had left her alone.

Now a stranger's even come to offer her comfort, giving her more than her mother ever did. Feeling his warmth so near, she unconsciously leaned over, closer to the soothing warm that came from him. She would have jumped naturally when their shoulders brushed; but at the moment, as soon as their shoulders touched, she slumped against the stranger, trembling. A strong, firm arm came around and wrapped over her torso, steadying her against the towering body next to her.

Like a click, Shiemi broke down.

Her body curled into his, burying her face in her chest, her fingers curling around his clothes as she shook, choking sobs filling the still grave air. Through it all, he kept a firm grip, lightly resting his cheek against her messy blonde hair, breathing in the scent of earth, flowers, and now salt as wet tears stained his shirt as the smaller being pressed against him, smearing her face against his chest, her breathe easily weaving through the cotton.

Purring slightly, he nuzzled her reassuringly, the vibrations spreading out and seeping into her, calming her in a pleasant hum as she cried it all out till only exhaustion took hold of her. When she nearly slumped against him, he wrapped his arms around her and held her securely against him, staring down at the tired, tear stained face. She blinked up at him swimming green eyes before they fell closed and she leaned into his warmth, still shaking slightly as her fingers gripped his shirt.

Without a word, he turned, disappearing into the air and reappearing in her room, gently setting her down on her bed and covering her. Even after so many years, she was still so dependent. She was strong enough to stand on her own, but during hardships, she still needed someone. Today made it quite evident. She couldn't be left alone, she wasn't ready to be left alone.

Turning around, he raised his hand and a blue flare of fire came out of the ground, dispersing and revealing a black and grey cat with horns and big green eyes peering up at him with eager curiosity.

"Stay with her," he instructed, pointing down at the blonde.

Blinking up curiously at him, the demon cat tilted its head, eyeing the blonde curled up in the bed before it smiled broadly. _Leave it to me! _the cat purred proudly, jumping over and instantly making himself comfortable next, purring loudly in delight. His master smiled down at the sight before he disappeared in a flare of blue fire.

* * *

**if there's one thing that bugged me was shiemi and her mother's relationship; what was it that really set them off? shiemi's mother trying to force her daughter away from the garden? was their relationship bad before that lead to it? was her mother hardly around for her daughter? **

**i would have liked it if they added more to it or something along those lines, personally i felt shiemi's problems to be weak compared to everyone else, and though its good to not have _everyone _having a drastic depressing and dark past, don't make it that just one person does.  
**

**i don't know, anyway, i felt like an angsty chapter **

**anyway, to explain some things, rin's being keep an occasional eye on shiemi through her life and hasn't appeared since she was a little kid, so in her mind, he was probably her imaginary friend; one's that still around and is acting like a guardian angel you could say. there was more to this chapter originally, but it didn't fit with the rest so it was cut down to this length.  
**


	11. Betrothed

**i think this will be the last one. i know you guys want me to continue on, but for now, i'm ready to be done; i can't think of anything else, not without putting DM on hiatus for quite a while; maybe in the future, i might continue, for now, i'm ready to be done with DM. **

**you guys are welcmed to use any of these chapters **

**thank you everyone for reading ^^ i hope it was enjoyable and inspiring. **

**Betrothed: decided and chosen for, securing a future for both. **

* * *

He was beastly looking. With long long, pointed ears, jagged fire like irises, long pointed fangs, claws, and a black lion like tail, with blue fire for horns; he looked every much a demon she imagined one to be. For a moment, she didn't move forward, didn't want too. Even with the expecting eyes of the villagers behind her and the demon before her, she just couldn't move.

He was terrifying and intimidating; she knew instinctively that she would get burned by those flames; just like everything else. Fire consumed everything. She's seen it before. But for her to be end up marrying a living embodiment of fire...

It seemed so wrong on so many levels.

_"Shiemi," _her mother's voice hissed behind her, pressing her on. Even without looking back, she could feel the nervous shift of the village, fear of the demon's impatience. _"Move," _her mother hissed on, verbally pushing her forward. Gulping as she trembled, she slowly moved towards the demon, keeping her head down, avoiding his menacing eyes as she drew nearer. With each step she took, the air got warmer and warmer till she could feel the heat of raw fire next to her, making her cringe slightly, the memory of the last fire still clear in her head, the fire that took her grandmother.

"I hope this offering is to your liking demon," the head priest, Arthur, offered, bowing to the demon.

Shiemi gulped, fear seizing her. It was hear and now. All that lead up to this point... she'd either be burnt to a crisp or cursed to be a demon's bride for the rest of her life. And with her clear hesitance... Shiemi trembled, barely containing her helpless whimper.

She was going to die.

She was going to die.

She felt the demon shift and closed her eyes, praying that it would be quick and painless. Only to widen when she heard the deep growl of his voice rang out, loud and clear. "Acceptable."

Her shock was enough that she looked up, her wide green eyes meeting his wild fire blue eyes. It was then that she realized that she was meeting his gaze and quickly bowed her head, trying to ignore all the eyes on her. "You're village won't be touched for this century," the demon growled on, keeping his gaze locked on her, Shiemi could feel it. Then before anyone could respond, a large mass of fire rose up, engulfing them.

For a moment, Shiemi thought she was being burned alive. The fire cleared though and she found herself in a black and blue room, dim lights of candles illuminated the room with a large bed behind them. Staring in at the room, the demon beside her spoke up his growl resonating throughout the room and making her bones shake at his voice. "This is your chamber, I understand from my elder brother that you'll need a few days to adjust here," he paused, eyeing her, and she carefully avoided it, instead trying to ambiguously inspect the room. When he didn't say more, she slowly turned and met his gaze. His ears tilted up, perking before he quickly turned away, his face darkening slightly.

"Let Kuro know if you need anything," he said at last, leaving her side and heading out.

"Wait!" Shiemi's voiced suddenly piped, making him freeze, his tail jerking up slightly, his ears twitching back as if he was trying to catch her words better. "This... this isn't your room as well?" she quietly asked.

He slowly turned around, eyeing her. "Do you want this to be?" he asked her.

She stiffened, unable to voice her answer out of fear. _No... _she didn't want him here.

He took her silence as a confirmation. "I'll see you in a few days," he growled out, "Kuro will see to your needs."

And with that, the door closed behind him, leaving her alone in this strange room.

* * *

The past few days were spent with her sleeping.

It didn't click what the demon meant about a few days to adjust, not till he left. Not long after she felt tired and heavy, the air thick and hot. It was almost unbearable, to a point she couldn't stand and nearly collapsed where she stood. She managed to get to the bed and collapsed there, her eyes falling shut as soon as she hit the pillows.

For the past few days she was tired. That's all she was. Tired and exhausted. She couldn't rise, she couldn't move, she could hardly even open her eyes.

Sleep, that's all she wanted to do.

There were a few instances that she did escape it, that she did wake. Usually, she was alone in her room.

Once she did wake up to see a black and grey cat smile at her with large green eyes, till she rolled over and fell back asleep. It was to a point that she was starting to think that this was all a dream, a really bad dream and that maybe, maybe she was sick. She wasn't offered to the demon, sold to be his wife so her village could have a hundred years of peace without an once of regret.

She was home, fighting off a bad cold... wasn't she?

Her hope was crushed when she officially woke, she found herself in the black and blue room she was left in. Sighing in disappointment to find that it wasn't a dream. It was real, she was in the demon world, fated to be his bride... Shiemi slumped back, staring dully up at the ceiling, noting the flame patterned put up on the ceiling.

_"Miss Shiemi?" _a voice softly whispered, making the girl blink in surprise, especially when she felt the sheets shift. Rising up, she gaped when she saw a black and grey cat, peering up at her with big, curious green eyes. _"Miss Shiemi," _the voice spoke again seemingly coming from the cat, _"you awake now?"_

Shiemi blinked in surprise down at the cat, not entirely sure if she should coo at the adorable creature staring up at her with large eyes, or scream because it was a demon, with curving horns sticking out of its head. Slowly, the cat crept closer to her, wary of Shiemi's reactions. Closer and closer it came, till it balanced on her knees, lightly pressing its nose against her own, twin tails curling in delight. The cat smiled at her, _"I'm Kuro, I'm here to serve you Miss Shiemi."_

She should have been scared, freaked out, or even intimidated by the horned talking cat. But its eyes were big, kind, and innocent with such a small body, it felt more like a normal, regular cat than a demon. Slowly, she reached out, lightly resting her hand against its head, feeling the hard bony surface of its horns and the soft fur underneath.

It looks like she did the right thing for the biggest smile bloomed over the cat's face, purring in delight as it pressed against her hand.

The hand was shy and unsure, but was accepting.

That's all the demon could ask for.

* * *

Shiemi hardly saw hide or shadow of the fire demon that brought her. Her whole week, or guessed it was a week, was spent in her room with Kuro. The cat spent time with her and brought her everything she needed and asked for. Food, water, and even books for her to read whenever bored.

It was to a point she was used to have the cat at her side, the demon was almost like a familar and Shiemi herself felt like a witch, an idea she played with a few times, especially in her youth. When no one was around, she'd slip off and play around the plants and grind up herbs, pretending she was a witch and working with spirits.

Perhaps that was one of the main reasons why Arthur was so eager to get rid of her. Out of everyone in the village, she was the odd one out. Not even her or her mother were close; probably came with looking similar to her father...

Shiemi brushed the thoughts away. She wasn't in her village anymore, she was in the demon world, Gehenna.

Did that make her the only human here? With nothing but demons around her?

It sounded like an interesting life, she was sure of that. At least, she was sure she got to keep her life. Kuro hasn't done anything to drop that she was doomed to die, nor has that fire demon appeared; neither has any other demon.

It was starting to get to a point that Shiemi was curious about leaving her room, about exploring. So while Kuro was away, she slowly slipped out of her room, she just wanted to see the hallway at least, something new besides her room. She found that it was very similar to her own room. The hallway was dark, lit by blue flamed candles, casting an eerie glow throughout the hall. Slowly, she stepped out, moving down the dark hall, basking herself in candle light. At the end of the hall, she leaned out, staring curiously at the path that went either way, wondering where each one went. As she was turning to peer down the opposite hall, she froze, her face hitting the firm body of a familiar demon looming over her, staring down at her with his feral eyes, some of his fangs sticking out, with the fire upon his head frightening her just as much as they did on upon her first meeting.

Instinctively, she jerked back, her eyes widening and she paled at the sight of the fire demon.

He looked just as surprised as she was, staring at her with wide eyes, his tail flickering behind him. "You're out of your room," he uttered to himself, though to her ears, it sounded more like a furious snarl. "I'm sorry!" she squeaked, hurriedly bowing to the demon before bolting off to her room, slamming the door behind her, pressing against as her heart pounded as she half expected the demon to come after her, burning everything in his rage.

He never came though, and in her haste, she never saw the dejected demon left alone in the hall.

* * *

_"You should go out more," _Kuro told her a few days after her run in with the fire demon.

Shiemi chose to ignore him for the moment, reading through one of her newest books the cat demon brought to her. _"The master isn't scary Miss Shiemi..." _Kuro murmured out, deflating slightly as his ears fell back, looking up at her with big eyes. Shiemi turned and met his stare, almost wishing that she could open up around the fire demon that cat was so fond of.

Shudders swept through her at the thought of getting close to the demon though, with long ears, pointed fangs for teeth, claws for hands, and being covered in fire...

To think he was to be her husband; that's what the village sold her to be, a wife of a demon. It could be tolerable if he was more like Kuro... even with his horns, Kuro still looked and acted like a normal cat, and she could easily forget he was a demon. His husband-to-be though... maybe she could live with the tail and ears, but the fire, claws, and fangs... those could easily tear her apart and burn her.

She wanted to get along with him, to know him, but everything in her body screamed for her to get away and hide.

Suddenly Kuro perked, jumping forward and sitting himself beside her, grinning up at her as his green eyes shined. _"You should meet more demons!" _the cat declared, sounding proud of his idea, though Shiemi only tensed at the thought. More demons? Didn't she just get used to Kuro?

_"More demons you know, the more comfortable you be with master!" _the cat insisted, jumping up and down eagerly.

"Um..."

_"We can start with the garden!"_

Shiemi did perk at that. A garden? There was a garden here?

Grinning at her spark of curiosity and interest, Kuro jumped up, trotting to the door and jumping at it, trying to get her to follow him. Reluctantly, Shiemi did, and she followed the cat ot of the room and down the hall. She half expected to se the fire demon again, but she never did.

* * *

The garden was nothing like she expected it to be.

The garden was full of life and beauty, something she didn't expect to see in Gehenna. When Kuro mentioned that the fire demon, "master" had a garden, Shiemi expected it to be a grave full of charred, ruined trees and plants. Not a huge variety of colors, of greens, pinks, whites, yellows, and reds.

It was absolutely marvelous.

The whole time, Kuro smiled brightly beside her, happy seeing that she was happy here. _"This is where all the plant demons live," _the cat voiced out, pausing and perking up at the garden started to move and shift with life. Shiemi started as small beings started to rise and shift among the flowers, eyes came on a few of the flowers, staring up at her curiously, even trees shifted about, staring at her.

When she shifted uneasily under their stares, Kuro quicklys assured her. _"You're master's future mate, they won't hurt you." _Then he beamed brightly. _"Plus I'm here, everyone knows not to mess with Kuro." _

Shiemi smiled down at the cat demon slightly before looking back up around the garden. Licking her lips, she smiled at the plant demons, bowing to them slightly. "Ni...nice to meet you," she said at last. Best to really start getting used to demons now. The plants around her shifted, aliens words mingling around them, and she was sure that they were talking about her.

One demon came out, floating out and in front of her, Shiemi leaning back to get a good look at the small demon smiling up at her. _"Ni~" _it chimed, smiling brightly.

_"A baby Greenman,"_ Kuro voiced. _"They help keep gardens alive and live in them."_

_"Ni~"_ the small green demon chimed again, Shiemi reaching up ant letting it rest in her open palm. Returning it smile as she ran her finger tips over its delicate, soft body, making the demon coo cutely. Soon more plant demons of all kind came out, flocking around her, looking for her own attention. Smiling and laughing among the smaller demons, Shiemi humored them, running her hands over them, relishing their softness and charm.

When she looked up, she tensed when she saw the fire demon perched up on a ceiling raft, watching her down below, mingling down with the plant demons. Before she could react to the sight of him, the plants tugged her attention away again, insisting that she focused on them. Still consciously aware that he was there watching, Shiemi tried to put herself at ease around the plants, finding them to be familiar and comforting.

* * *

She finally got used to him, at least seeing him hover around, watching her and her new hobby here in the garden. She still got a little tense whenever he drifted close, but it was to a point she didn't run anymore. The fire demon was still quite an uneasy sight to her, but she was getting used to him. He could stand close without her cringing... too much.

Usually it was here in the garden that they hung around. The demon sitting far or close, simply watching as Shiemi drifted around the garden, interacting with the plant demons; Kuro would hang around either, talking and pestering either to play with him. Shiemi would rubbed the cat or wave a twig around for him to chase; the fire demon and Kuro though would disappear, leaving her alone with a an excited fanged smile to haunt her as they left to play.

It was odd and awkward, but it was the way life was, and for a moment, Shiemi was content with it. The fire demon never burned her like she feared, or reached out to harm her in anyway.

She wasn't as scared as she used to be...

At some point, she was sure a step would be taken, something that would finish and strength the bond. It was to a point she was starting to think that perhaps, it wouldn't be too bad to be the demon's wife. He wasn't evil like she was lead to believe.

There was one day that something changed though. When Shiemi came out, she could tell in the air that something was different. The air was tense and the whole castle the fire demon lurked in was hotter. It was like he tense and angry, she could feel it in the air. Kuro wasn't waiting for her when she came out, giving Shiemi a sense of foreboding. Licking her lips, she cautiously slipped down the hall straight towards the garden, the walk there long and tense, with only the sound of her own hollow steps filling the empty hall. Dread became even more evident when she arrived at the garden.

The demons weren't out and about as they usually were and the plants were still and stiff. For a moment, Shiemi didn't step out, didn't go into the garden as she always did. There was something wrong, She just knew it, something was off, something was going to happen. She moved to go back to the safety of her room, only to freeze at the sight of a new demon.

Like her fire demon, this one had a human like appearance. With slightly slanted ears, not as large or as pointed as her demon, a bored, neutral face and glinting green eyes, much lighter in color than his hair; Shiemi stood stiffly, staring at the new demon, unsure what to do or even to say.

The demon moved before she did, tilting his head slightly as he peered at her, hardly curious or interested.

For some instinctive reason, she found that to be terrifying.

"So he picked you?" the demon mused allowed, sounding dull about it, though she could almost hear a hint of surprise. She could only gulp, taking a step back as he continued to stare at her. "What's special about you?" he pressed on, hardly caring about her slow movement away from him. "You're short and weak, even I can tell that. What's so special about you that you caught my baby brother's attention?"

Baby brother?

Did he mean the fire demon?

Then the demon shrugged. "Oh well," he hummed to himself, turning away and staring out absently at the garden. "My brothers are weird. I won't bother making sense of any of them." He turned back to her, waiting patiently for something. "Well your the lady of this castle now aren't you? Amuse me."

"Um..." was all she could utter, unsure how to go about this. When did she become a hostess? Was that something a demon bride did? All she expected was the bear the fire demon's children, and he had yet to approach her about it... she actually forgot about that. When the demon across from her hummed impatiently, she jerked back into reality, awkwardly waving to the only thing she truly knew here: the garden.

"I've seen it a thousand times," he stated flatly.

"Uh..."

The demon stepped closer, sniffing her while Shiemi jerked back, paling at the closeness. "Has my baby brother even claimed you yet? If you're still open to be claimed... maybe I'll take you."

Her blood went cold at those words, at the simple decision he made for her life.

He tilted his head as he peered at her, humming to himself. "Maybe I will. You're cute enough I suppose and you smell like the earth, which is interesting because I thought my brother hated me, but you smell like earth and I am the earth king and-"

"You should leave," a familiar growl resonated out behind her, making her jump right back into a firm body that stood menacingly behind her, growling darkly while the green demon turned his bored gaze behind her. "Ah, hello little brother."

"Amaimon."

Instinctively, she drew closer to the demon, pressing herself against his firmer body and finding security with him. Absently, his arms wound around her form slightly, securing her next to him as he growled.

"I was just meeting your mate-to-be... I'm actually surprised you haven't taken her yet. Do you not want her?" the green demon asked, "If not, I'll take her; older brother has been pestering me too take someone and she has real nice eyes, I could give them to out brother's collection, after all, all we need is the body, she really doesn't need them-"

The fire demon darted forward, snarling out angry as he lashed out, tugging out a sword that glowed with blue fire, much like its wielder. Amaimon jumped back, the fire demon coming after him, snarling and screeching as he lashed his blade after him. "Get out before I take your eyes," her demon roared, chasing Amaimon out of his castle and leaving her alone to watch the retreat. Her fingers unconsciously curled around her sleeves, gripping them as she watched after them with wide eyes.

_"Miss Shiemi!"_

Turning sharply, she saw Kuro darting towards her, she automatically bent down, scooping up the cat and assuring him. He mewled constantly, checking her for any damage as he caught the earth king's scent. _"Are you ok? That mean brother didn't touch you did he? He's one of the nasty brothers the master has," _the cat rambled.

Smiling reassuringly, Shiemi coaxed the cat down, slowly walking back to her room, cringing at each explosion she heard int he distance.

"I'll be ok," she said simply. "I'll be ok."

* * *

Shiemi found him slumped to the ground, bleeding and cursing. His tail twitched and flickered in raw agitation at his pain. Without a moment of hesitation, she rushed to his side, gathering up the leaves she knew that would help, or at least pull him over till she could get some real herbal remedies.

He looked surprised to see her, his ears perked up high, his blazing fire eyes widening. Quickly he tried to rise, as if he was going to try and get away from her. Only to still when she placed a hand on him lightly. "Please, let me help..."

Slowly, he laid himself back down, watching her as she carefully places leaves over all the scratches and punctures the green demon put in him. Each and everyone that she came across looked painful, to get and deal with. She couldn't imagine getting suck injuries. here, there wasn't much she could do that would make them go away faster, the leaves she put on him would stop the bleeding, but there was still infections...

"I'm sorry," she whispered, making his closest ear twitch at her. "I shouldn't have left my room, I could feel it in the air that something was... wrong. If I didn't leave, you..."

"I should have told you," he stated, his voice still a deep growl, despite his best effort to soften it. She smiled despite the situation; this was their first official conversation without her cowering. She was still wary of the blue flames that were on his body, but they had to burn her, and the only heat she felt from it was warm and comforting. She was starting to wonder if she would get burned if she touched the fire.

When she set the last leaf in place, she frowned, glancing down to see that there were bloody marks on him, marks she couldn't cover, not without getting more leaves. "Sorry," she mumbled, "this is all I can do at the moment..."

"I'll heal fast," he assured.

That did little to ease her. Covered in blood and cuts, she was reminded that there was a big difference between humans and demons, and a reason why they were a superior race... Didn't mean life was easy. Her body moved forward, making him tense as she slowly wrapped her arms around him, pressing him against her body. She inhaled the smell of fire, felt the warmth it gave off. Breathing it in, she decided that she could get used to the smell, and it wasn't so bad...

"Thank you," she whispered, squeezing him tighter. "Thank you..."

She'd be his bride, she'd be the demon's bride.


End file.
